CDU ponders how to rein in NGO pushing for diesel driving bans in Germany

Handelsblatt

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU party is exploring options to rein in the Environmental Action Germany (DUH) NGO, which has irked many politicians in the country by successfully suing cities to abide by EU air quality regulations and forcing them to introduce driving bans for especially polluting diesel cars, Dietmar Neuerer writes in Handelsblatt. The DUH has come under fire for not fully revealing its donors, prompting speculation among CDU politicians like Armin Laschet, state premier of Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), that it effectively is “a suing enterprise funded by foreign car companies to weaken Germany’s automotive industry.” The CDU is now seeking to deprive the DUH of its official “charitable” label, which currently allows the NGO to operate under a favourable tax regime and imposes laxer transparency requirements on its donation structure. In its 2017 annual report, the DUH says Japanese carmaker Toyota donated about 50,000 euros per year for 20 years but has meanwhile ended its support payments.